Taming Bike Riders

NEERAJ Gaude of the Indian Reserve Battalion died young in a road accident riding a bike without a helmet on Ribandar-Panaji causeway. May his soul rest in peace! May his fellow policemen in IRB, as well as men in Goa police, learn a lesson and swear to ride always with a helmet on their head. If those who are responsible for enforcing the helmet rule among commoners do not care to use it themselves, how can we expect the citizens to do so? As it is, the resistance to use a helmet is tremendous. A majority of them ride without a helmet. Some of the male riders are so casual that they ask their wife or girlfriend riding the pillion to carry the helmet, just in case a cop is standing ahead to check on helmets. Who they are cheating but themselves! But it is not just helmet. Bike riders are also guilty of violating rules on overtaking and speed limits. Neeraj Gaude is no more. But he has left behind a terrible pain in the hearts of all of us – and above all, fellow policemen. That pain should act as a constant reminder to Goa’s policemen to stop over-speeding, overtaking and helmet-less bike riding.